Combination chair and stand for musical instruments



COMBINATION CHAIR AND STAND FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed April 24, 1958 April 1960 H. J. WENGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W ENT OR. #ARRYI WENGER ATTORNEY;

April 26, 1960 H. J. WENGER 2,934,131

COMBINATION CHAIR AND STAND FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed April 24, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HARRY J. l/VENGER W ld-QM A'r'roR/v: Kr

United States Patent COMBINATION CHAIR AND STAND FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Harry J. Wenger, Owatonna, Application April 24, 1958, Serial No. 730,676

"4 Claims. (Cl. 155-2) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus for supporting large musical instruments such as a string bass, and more particularly to a combined chair and supporting stand, whereby the player may play the instrument from either a sitting or standing position, without the necessity of physically supporting the instrument.

It is well known in the musical profession that large string instruments, such as a string bass, are bulky and unwieldy to handle, and hence it may at times be difficult for a player to manipulate or play such an instrument to the best of his ability to produce the results most desired by the player. In other words, when a player must support a substantial portion of the weight of the instrument while playing a musical composition thereon, his execution of the instrument may be restricted to a certain extent, which may noticeably impair his performance thereon.

Attempts have heretofore been made to provide mechanical means for supporting a string bass when being played, but to the best of my knowledge, none of these devices have proven entirely satisfactory, whereby the player may readily and comfortably manipulate the instrument to the best of his ability at all times. Such known supporting apparatuses have presented various problems. They have not always provided an adequate and comfortable support for the player, whereby the player of the instrument may readily play the instrument as well as adjust the position of the instrument with respect to his body, and with the assurance the instrument will remain in proper playing position with respect to the players seat, until willfully released from such position by the player.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus for thus supporting a large string instrument, or the like, in playing position, independently of the player, while being played, and when briefly left unattended by the player or musician.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this general type which may efficiently support a string bass, or the like, whereby the instrument may be played from either a sitting or standing position.

A further object of the invention is to provide an efficient and inexpensive apparatus of this general character having means for engaging both the upper and lower ends of a large string instrument, whereby the instrument is always retained in its normal playing position when positioned in the apparatus.

Other objects of the invention reside in the specific construction of the supporting stand, whereby it may readily be adapted or adjusted to accommodate instruments of varying sizes; in the member secured to the back of the chair and extending upwardly therefrom and having its upper end portion off-set and provided with means for engaging and supporting the upper end of the instrument in playing position with respect to the chair, and whereby the instrument may readily be tilted to any desired angle; and in the elongated member secured to r, Ice 2,934,131

the lower portion of the stand and extending outwardly and forwardly therefrom and having means at its outer end for receiving the usual supporting peg of the instrument to prevent it from relatively shifting its position on the floor when the instrument is operatively positioned in the combined chair and instrument supporting stand.

These and other objects of the invention and the means for their attainment will be more apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings there has been disclosed a structure designed to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact features shown, as various changes may be made within the scope of the claims which follow.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my improved 1 combined chair and instrument supporting stand, the dotted lines indicating an instrument in playing position thereon;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale, showing the means provided on the upper offset end portion of the stand for adjustably attaching the upper end of an instrument thereto;

Figure 3 is a rear view of the combined chair and stand;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, on an en arged scale, showing the means for vertically adjusting the position of the upper end portion of the stand to adapt it to the upper end of the instrument to be supported thereto;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale, showing the horizontal member for supporting the lower end of the instrument in fixed relation to the lower portion of the chair, the end portion of said member being partially broken away to more clearly illustrate the construction thereof;

Figure '6 is a detail sectional view on the line 6-6 of Figure 5, on an enlarged scale, showing the means for securing the elongated horizontal member (shown in Figure 5) in adjusted position on the chair; and

Figure 7 is a detail sectional view on the line 7--7 of Figure 5.

The novel combined chair and instrument supporting stand herein disclosed is shown comprising a three-legged chair or stool of more or less conventional construction, generally designated by the number 11. The chair is shown comprising rear tubular legs 12 and 13, and a front 'tubular leg 14, suitably secured together at their upper ends as by welding, to provide a suitable support for a seat 15 of any desired configuration. An annular brace member and foot rest 16 is secured to the lower intermediate portions of the three legs to prevent them from spreading, when an individual is seated on the be necessary, with the utmost ease, and-with the as chair. Suitable rubber cap 17 may be secured to the lower ends of the legs, as is well known in the art. The chair 11 also has a back rest 18, shown secured to the seat portion of the chair by suitable upright tubular arms 19 and 21, the lower ends of which may be welded to the upper end portions of the legs 12, 13 and 14, to provide a composite frame structure having adequate strength, and being light in weight.

The novel apparatus herein disclosed is particularly adapted for supporting a string bass, generally designated by the numeral 22 in Figure 1. In this figure the instrument is indicated in its operative or playing position with respect to the seat 15 of the chair or stool 11, whereby a player seated on the stool may play the instrument without physically supporting any portion of its weight, when either picking or bowing the strings, as may surance that the instrument is always retained in proper Patented Apr. 26, 196 1),

playing position, even when the player momentarily leaves his position on the chair.

To thus support the instrument in playing position on the stand, upright member 23 is shown having its lower end telescopically received in the upper end of arm 21, whereby it may be vertically adjusted therein to position its upper offset end position 24 at the desired elevation with respect to the instrument to be supported thereon. To secure the member 23 in adjusted position in arm 21, a suitable clamping element 25 may be secured to the upper terminal of arm 21 of the back rest 18. A clamping screw 26 is received in threaded engagement with element 25, having inner terminal portion 27 traversing an elongated slot 28 in the lower end portion of member 23.

Thus, by relatively rotating the clamping screw 26 in clamping element 25, member 23 may be raised or lowered in arm 21 to vertically adjust its position therein, as will be readily understood by reference to Figures 3 and 4. Clamping screw 26, because of its reception in slot 28, also prevents member 23 from relatively rotating in arm 21. Brackets 29 secure the back rest 18 to arms 19 and 21. In some instances, the lazy back 29 may be adjustably secured to the arms 19 and 21 to make it possible to change its position with respect to the seat 15. Secured to the upper offset end portion 24 of the upright member 23, is a slide 31 having a set screw 32 therein for securing it in adjusted position on the end portion 24, as will readily be understood by reference to Figure 2. The tubular element or slide 31 has an eyelet 33 secured to its lower portion to which the uppermost end of the instrument may be attached by suitable means, such as a cord 34, indicated in Figure 1.

The slide 31 may be freely moved back and forth on the upper offset end portion 24 of member 23 by loosening the set screw 32, and the elevation of the eyelet 33 may be varied by vertically adjusting the member 23 in the arm 21, as hereintofore stated. It will thus be seen that the apparatus may be readily adapted for supporting instruments of various lengths, by simply relatively adjusting the positions of the eyelet 33 and the cupshaped member 36 in accordance to the particular instrument to be supported on the stand.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the means provided adjacent to the floor for supporting the lower end of the instrument, whereby the lower end of the instrument is not likely to relatively slide or shift its position on the floor when the instrument is being played. The means provided for thus supporting the lower end of the instrument is best illustrated in Figures 1, 5, 6 and 7, and comprises an elongated member 34, preferably of tubular stock, generally designated by the numeral 35. Member 34 has a cup-shaped terminal 36 at its outer end adapted to receive the usual supporting peg 37 of the instrument, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1. The cup-shaped terminal 36 has a relatively deep socket or cavity 38 therein for receiving the peg 37, whereby when the instrument is supported in playing position, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1, it is not likely to relatively shift its position with respect to the chair or stool 11.

Tubular member 35 is adjustly secured to the chair or stool 11, preferably to the front leg 14 thereof. To secure the member 35 to the leg 14, a tubular clamping element 39 is secured to the leg 14 by such means as welding, as will be understood by reference to Figure 6. The upper wall portion of member 39 has a threaded aperture therein adapted to receive a clamping screw 41 having its lower end portion 42 traversing an elongated slot 43 provided in the upper wall portion of the elongated member 35, as best illustrated in Figures and 7. The threaded end portion 42 of clamping screw 41 engages the inner wall surface of the tubular member 35 through slot 43, whereby the member 35 may readily be secured in adjusted position to the leg 14 by the simple manipulation of screw 41, in a manner similar to the clamping screw 26, which locks the upright member 23 in adjusted position in arm 21. The terminal 42 of screw 41 also cooperates with the walls of slot 43 to prevent the member 35 from relatively rotating in the tubular clamping member 39, whereby the outer cupshaped terminal 36 thereof is always retained in its operative upright position, as shown in Figures 1 and 5, when member 35 is secured in adjusted position to leg 14. Clamping screw 41 also limits the longitudinal movement of member 35 with respect to leg 14.

When the combined chair and instrument supporting stand herein disclosed is not in use, the upright member 23 and horizontal member 35 may readily be detached from the chair by simply removing the set screws 26 and 41 from their respective clamping elements 25 and 39, whereby the parts 23 and 35 may be packed within the legs of the chair to conserve storage space.

The novel combined chair and instrument supporting stand herein disclosed has been found extremely practical in actual use. It completely relieves the player of physically supporting any material portion of the weight of the instrument while playing it, whereby the player is free to manipulate his hands to the best of his ability at all times.

The combined chair and stand also provides a support for the instrument when the latter is not being played and with the assurance that the instrument will be in proper position for immediate playing, when the player returns to his seat. This is a highly desirable feature when the instrument is used in an orchestra, and the orchestra resumes play following a brief intermission or other interruption in the performance of the program,

The entire apparatus, as hereintofore stated, is extremely simple and inexpensive in construction and may be readily set up from its packaged state to an operative playing position, as shown in Figure 1, in a comparably short interval of time, it being understood that the user of the apparatus quickly learns the relative positions of the upright member 23 and horizontal member 25 with respect to the chair, for his particular instrument, so that he may readily secure said members in their operative positions on the stand.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms Without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects merely a being illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all modifications and variations as fall within the meaning and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Whatl claim is:

1. In a combined chair and instrument supporting stand for supporting a string instrument, a seat, a plurality of legs for supporting said seat, a pair of spaced arms secured to the upper ends of said legs and extending outwardly and upwardly therefrom adjacent to the rear edge of said seat, a back rest secured to said arms, an upright supporting member having its lower end telescopically re ceived in the upper end of one of said arms, means pr f viding limited vertical adjustment of said member in said arm, said upright member having its upper end portion offset from its longitudinal axis, an element slidably mounted on said offset end portion and having means for attaching the upper end of an instrument thereto, a tubular clamping element secured to one of the legs of said chair, an elongated tubular member having one end slidably received in said tubular clamping element, means permitting limited axial movement of said member in said clamping element, and means at the outer end of said elongated member for receiving and supporting the lower terminal of the instrument, said last mentioned means cooperating with the attachment element secured to the upper olfset end portion of the upright supporting member to bodily support the instrument on the stand, whereby said stand and instrument may be moved about as a unit from place to place, without disturbing the position of the instrument on the stand.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means at the outer end of said elongated member is a cup-shaped device for receiving the lower terminal of the instrument, and whereby said terminal is not likely to accidentally become detached from the stand.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein a foot rest is secured to the outside of said legs.

4. In a combined chair and instrument supporting stand for supporting a string bass, a seat, a plurality of legs for supporting said seat, an arm secured to the upper ends of said legs and extending outwardly and upwardly therefrom adjacent to the rear end of said seat, a back rest secured to said arm, an upright supporting member having its lower end adjustably secured to said arm whereby it may be vertically adjusted with respect to said seat, said upright member having its upper end portion off-set from its longitudinal axis, an element slidably mounted on said oif-set end portion and having means for attaching the upper end of a string bass thereto, a clamping element secured to the lower portion of one of the legs of said chair, an elongated member having one end secured in said clamping element and longitudinally adjustable therein, and means at the outer end of said elongated member for receiving and supporting the lower terminal of the instrument and co-operating with the slidable element secured to the upper oft-set end portion of the upright supporting member to bodily support the instrument in playing position on the stand, and whereby said chair and instrument may be moved about as a unit from place to place.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 915,345 Gould Mar. 16, 1909 970,385 Nash Sept. 13, 1910 1,288,179 Poehland Dec. 17, 1918 1,612,148 Oettinger Dec. 28, 1926 2,455,821 Stenger Dec. 7, 1948 2,828,735 Thompson Apr. 1, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 473,853 France Oct. 16, 1914 566,492 Germany Dec. 19, 1932 

